Lockerboard’s 12-year-old Inventor Will Make A Special Appearance On Shark Tank’s Season Premiere

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Twelve-year-old Carson Kropfl of San Clemente California, the inventor of the Lockerboard, a skateboard which can fit inside a student’s locker and/or backpack, will make a special appearance on Shark Tank Season Premiere on October 1st at 8pm on abc according to ABC.com.

The Shark Tank appearance isn’t purely coincidental according to the OC Register. In the year 2013, the Kropfl family took a vacation to Mammoth. Soon, they realized that they were in the same elevator as an executive producer on Shark Tank, Max Swedlow.

After the Kropfl family saw the Shark Tank logo on Swedlow’s sweatshirt, Carson and his mom mentioned a device that they were working on. “He advised Carson to stick with it and keep growing his business,” stated the Lockerboard website.

Soon, Lockerboard started gaining more of an audience internationally, so Max Swedlow contacted the Kropfl family to apply for an appearance on Shark Tank. “It was crazy, it was awesome,” Carson said of the experience. “I was blown away,” as reported by OC Register.

The original idea of the lockerboard started after Kropfl’s first day at ShoreCliff Middle School. He wanted a skateboard that can fit inside a school locker and inside a student’s backpack. After school, he’d spend time shaving down old skateboards to about 17 inches. He’d work and work, and soon by the end of the week he could make about 50 skateboards.

The business grew and grew and Carson made his way onto television when he got an invitation to appear on the Harry Show. While in New York, he skated into Trump Tower to ask the President if he could send his son, Barron, a Lockerboard. With a great review from the president, Lockerboard expanded even more.

His enterprise, last fall, was launched and orders were piling in. It wasn’t so easy keeping up with the orders. Companies such as Vans and others skate shops, contributed to giving some refurbished boards that he could use. It isn’t a problem any more because Carson now has an established company, PS Stix Skateboard that makes most of the skateboards.